Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 21:05:35 -0400 From: merdement@yahoo.com Subject: Empire Ch.1 Chapter I "The Meeting" Dear reader, This story, and those that may follow, involve a place, time and people that never were. There will be a healthy dose of lesbian erotica; plus some BD/SM, non-consensual, adult-youth and possibly some (gasp) hetero as the plot progresses. Any comments -- good or bad -- are very welcome and encouraged via the e-mail address at the bottom. One cannot progress without feedback. BTW, being the first installment, this piece has a bit more background before it heats up to the proper level, read on and bear with it. There is a payoff. THE LEGAL THING: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any similarities to characters in other fictional works, other than those pulled from classical mythology (and therefore within the public domain), are also coincidental. If individuals feel that this story impinges on their person or work should take no offense, as none is meant or was intended. They should also relax and obsess less. Remember, if we stopped writing when we ran out of original themes, literature would have died with the Greeks. Enjoy, The Author ********* Choura looked out over the sumptuous expanse of greenery and flowers that comprised the gardens of the Imperial Palace. The noonday sun, glinting off reflecting pools and gilded statues lit the chrome-bright planes of her breastplate so she shone like a small sun herself. Stray beams played off her gold-embossed faceplate, casting mirror images of its terrible visage on the marble walls. She shook her head. "I don't understand the Queen's interest in these people," she said. "How can a culture be worth her attention when they put such attention into so much ...frippery?" "They are powerful," said her superior, Yassine. She looked out of the other side of the long, open air causeway they stood on. "Their might stretches over much of the continent and their desires stretch further." "Look at the gold on that statue," Choura said. "I could outfit an entire war party. That statue is wearing an entire light cavalry division worth of horses." Yassine's eyes didn't waver from the sights below her. She too was wearing her finest battle armor. But like the statues her second gawked at, she was perfectly immobile. "We are here to make friends with them, to cement the pact between `Amma Khan and Emperor Magda. A real alliance with the Donai can give the Sisterhood stability." Choura spun on her heel, "Stability? What stability can this upstart nation lend to us? We are five thousand years of unbroken tradition. We are the rock that has stood while the grasslands of this continent have come and gone. We are permanence. Everything and everyone else is fleeting." Yassine's eyes remained on the horizon. Her battle helm hid whatever emotion her voice did not evince. "I see saffron and tea; silk and poetry." Choura strode to her captain and looked over the vista she was so entranced by. Over the other side of the causeway, the business and custom of Donai was in full movement. Men, women, horses, pack animals, carts and kiosks collided in the process of everyday commerce in the so-called "jewel of the empire." The cries of touts and fishwives reached even the high towers of the imperial palace. "What are you talking about?" "A ship has pulled into the harbor. It's Emyrrean," Yassine said as she pointed to a short freighter coming into the interdiction zone. Harpoon gunners and catapult teams tracked their entry, wary of any sign of aggression. As its azure sails dropped, riders astride dolphins attached ropes to its bow so that teams of men could pull it to shore. Sailors skated down the lines from the tallest masts to the deck below as the ship was pulled in closer. "That's a trader from Emyre, the largest spice market in the middle deserts. They're probably carrying a load of silk and their fine acrobatic horses. Probably a sizable load of hashish as well." "Silk is for whores and dancing horses are fit only for circuses," Choura spat. "We are Amazons; what need have we for these things?" "None, though the horses are fine to ride," Yassine said, turning for the first time to Choura, "But that's not what you should be aware of. Look to the seas." Choura looked out, squinting at the harbor through her helm. "Look at the ship," Yassine said. "That vessel would never put to port on the island. No silk, spices or horses ever come to the island from Emyre. As you well know, no ships ever comes to our home." "Do we need such things?" she asked. "What need have we ever had for horses that weren't born on the island? Aren't ours the strongest in the world? Whose spices compare with ours? Is there another land which grows the dreaming flower? All my life for the Queen and more at that, but I don't see the reason in this. We don't need these people!" Yassine exhaled slowly and looked out at the harbor again, "Times have changed. We are no longer the sole mistresses of the sea. The Caliphate of Emyre and others have built comparable navies and are sending their wares to all corners of the world. The barbarians of the northlands have sent raiding parties all along their continent in flimsy longboats, with some success. Simply put, we are being left behind." "Would anyone dare send a force against us?" "It won't be long," she said. "We can no longer indulge in the luxury of isolation. If we are to survive we must make some strategic alliance in the region. Donai is the first, best choice. The Queen has said this, it is our duty to make the Empress our ally. She has unparalleled military forces in this region. Kaleda is our best hope." Choura fingered the haft of her war axe, something she did when her anxiety overcame her composure, "Doesn't this signal weakness?" she asked. "Doesn't this gesture tell the world that we are vulnerable?" Yassine turned to her lieutenant and laid a hand on her armored shoulder. Her voice, cast through her grinning demon's face helm, came confident and soothing. "The Donai empire needs the Amazons, they can't pretend to control the seas without us at their side," she said. "By allying with them we will gain strength and get security. Our way will survive." Choura wasn't reassured and spread her hands in a gesture of desperation. "But they are men!" "The empress would argue over that." "Kaleda is one woman in a society built by men. We don't even know if she has any real power over her husband," she spat the last word. "Even the older nations of the east are falling under Atraeon's boot. He is feared on the Great Continent. What if he is the real power?" "Then we deal with Atraeon," Yassine said as she regarded her oldest friend. "Our way must survive." ******* "Announcing Princess Yassine, Heir to the Throne of Amazonia, Voice and Will of the Most-Royal Sister Queen Hippolyta of Amazonia, and her retainer." With those words from the brightly-dressed herald, Yassine and Choura entered the great hall of the Imperial Palace. Their armored feet made a flat clacking noise on the marble floor that echoed off walls covered with rich tapestries and flanked by enormous columns. Yassine heard about the hall at the knee of her grandmother, Amma Kahn. When she was there nearly one hundred years before, the palace was still unfinished and she was the warrior queen who ensured that Donai would exist long enough for it to be completed. Looking now at its glory, she felt a little vicarious pride that one of her blood made sure such a majestic thing was preserved and completed. >From the great gilded doors to the open-air balcony behind the seat of power, the hall was a hundred yards wide, almost half that wide and tall with an arched ceiling. The floor itself was inlaid with designs of sea dragons and lions made from jade and ivory. Six great statues lined the sides of the room, each ten times taller than an Amazon. Their faces stared down at the ornate floor beneath. At the statues great feet was a thing of legend: the Amber Throne. Large enough to seat someone twice human size, it was fashioned entirely from the precious substance. Sunlight passing through its high back cast a golden glow down upon the great seal that was set into the floor -- also of amber but shot through with ivory, jade and a blue stone Yassine supposed could be lapis. The throne from which power flowed across the continent further and further every day was everything her grandmother told her it was. And on it, almost as an afterthought, sat Empress Kaleda. "View ye now the Empress Kaleda of the Amber Throne, Absolute Ruler of Donai and the wellspring of the Empire!" the herald's voice rang out again. Kaleda was not quite so tall as the two Amazons before her, and it was hard to guess her age. Sky-blue eyes glittered over high, sculpted cheekbones wreathed by sleek golden hair that reached just below her shoulders. Her skin was tanned by sun and sea air. She wore a shimmering blue dress the same hue as her eyes accented by gold at the neck and hems. Her breasts were more than ample for a frame, suggested by her bare arms, which was lean and slightly muscular. Her striking beauty almost drew the eye away from her crown. Almost. The crown of the Imperium was carved from a single ruby. The inch-wide band circling her head was topped by three faceted points in the front, the middle one being the highest. "Welcome to Our home, honored guests," she said, her full lips revealing perfect white teeth. "What news of Our sister, Amazonia?" "She is well and hopes the same of you, Donai," Yassine said, remembering the way the royalty here referred to themselves as their nations when speaking officially. "With her good wishes she has sent a gift for you and your..Emperor." Yassine wanted to kick herself for the pause she employed and was thankful that her faceplate was down. Choura removed a linen-wrapped pack from her back and handed it to her. As she began to unwrap it and head up the steps to the throne, the air before her warped with blue light as something pushed her back forcefully. "Roquan, these are Our guests," the empress said. Choura, ax halfway over her head and advancing swiftly, was lifted off her feet by an invisible force. Startled, Yassine noticed a short man in garish tattered robes standing a few steps down from the throne. He held his hands before him in gnarled talons. A mage; Yassine thought. "Anything wearing that much metal needs to be watched closely," Roquan said. "You can see that the other is a dangerous sort, Empress. I suggest you let me handle this particular affair of state and you repair to a less, soon to be gore strewn, chamber." Kaleda rose, "Release them, Roquan. We don't care for this sort of display." "But that one bears a weapon!" The mage, who seemed to be wearing a hundred different garments, began to glow with a light blue corona which trailed off into undulating tentacles. His dress was ridiculous, but his demeanor was deadly serious. The empress walked down the dais from the throne to stand before Yassine. Despite having a full three inches on her, and at least eighty pounds, the Amazon found the woman intimidating. The aura of Power, her grandmother had called it, rulership without it is impossible. She held out her hand. "It's a sword," Yassine said as she handed the bundle over to Kaleda. "Mother had it crafted just for this meeting." Removing it from its wrap, she pulled the blade away from its scabbard and admired its gleaming length. Straight in the Amazonian style, it's edge was slightly grooved for opening terrible wounds while the other side was rounded -- for cracking bones through armor. She fingered the engraved pommel with appreciation. "Beautiful, It's similar to her own sword, Cold Sister," Kaleda said. "We are honored." Yassine started to launch into the story of the creation of the sword, that it indeed was patterned after the Amazon Queen's symbol of office, when the empress started to uncoil her fine blue robes. Her words died in her mouth as Kaleda's bare breasts swung free. The full, tanned globes were topped by slightly darker aureole. Choura, who had been cursing and struggling against the force that held her helpless inches above the floor, went silent. Standing away from the Amazon, the empress swung the sword back and forth in long arcs. She threw the light silk into the air and with three vicious strokes, slashed the garment to tatters. The sight of Kaleda, possibly the most powerful monarch on the continent, standing bare breasted with a sword in her hand quickened Yassine's pulse. She turned the sword a few more times in the air before walking back toward the amazon, "We don't think the Emperor will much like it, he cares more for a curved blade." She laid the sword over her shoulder as she smiled. As the metal touched her skin, her nipples became hard and poked toward Yassine, "But We are well-pleased with it and thank Our Sister." "Accept it with her affection," Yassine croaked. The slightest tip of Kaleda's head summoned a young woman in a similar dress to her side, she handed the sword and scabbard to her and turned over to the mage. "Roquan, assist me." The shredded remains of the dress swirled along the ground as if caught by a sudden whirlwind and leaped into her waiting hand. She took the silk, once again whole, and draped it casually around her neck. She put a warm hand on Yassine's inner elbow, one of the few parts not covered by armor, and led her along toward the large balcony. As the two walked away, Roquan let his aura slip away and gently lowered Choura to the floor. His smile was tight as he walked toward her, hands clenched tightly behind his back. His skin tone reflected a desert heritage, but his light hair and dark-ringed eyes pointed in other directions simultaneously. His voice came quietly, though there was no one close enough to hear, "The royal court is used to different behavior, I suggest you learn better etiquette before entering this chamber again." Choura's indignation was apparent, "No one behaves that way toward the future Queen of Amazonia. Remember that mage!" "Were the emperor's guard here, the cleaning wenches," the last word came with emphasis, "would be telling a fantastic tale for some years to come." The Amazon drew herself up to full height, far taller than the riot of colors standing like a man before her, "I will not allow her to come to harm. Come the demons of the Hells, I will not allow that to happen." "I'm glad you understand the stakes," Roquan said quietly. ****** "It is good that our peoples are fulfilling the promise of our ancestors, albeit so long after their passing." Kaleda's words came as they stood under the bright midday sun. Whatever tensions her mage labored under, she was oblivious. Yassine decided to go with the mood. "Hippolyta thought that sending the emissary in time for the Mother's Night ceremonies was an elegant touch," She said. "And she was so well-versed in the traditions." The empress looked out over the hills of her sprawling city and laughed, something which again revealed her breasts to the open air, "We deliberately sent her a month ahead of time so that she would arrive well before the celebration. They ran so far off course that they were almost out of food and water by the time they found their way to Amazonia." Yassine snapped her faceplate up with a clang, displaying her total shock, "You meant to miss Mother's Night?" Kaleda looked for a second at the Amazon's face, she smiled, "We thought arriving then would be looked on as poor taste. We didn't want to be seen as an uninvited guest. The emissary spent her extra time below decks reading up on Amazonia to pass the time." Yassine laughed despite herself, "Well, keeping the men onboard the ships was a good idea. If they were to come to the island they would have undoubtedly received a chilly welcome." "And risk dying upon touching Amazonia's soil? It's poisonous to men, you know." Yassine shook her head, "What is the term you people use? An `old wives' tale?' It's not because of the soil that the first conquerors died when they came to the island." "It's a young wives' tale too," Kaleda said. "Some of those men were so laden with protective fetishes and locks of their wives hair for safe passage that they would have drowned under the weight if they fell overboard." The two burst into gales of laughter at the image of superstitious men gazing at the island in fear, quaking in their armor. The scene continued for a short while until Kaleda brought herself under control again. Her face turned serious. "That's the kind of mentality we need to change. Centuries of fear and mistrust have kept us apart. What Magda and Kahn did was question the need for that fear -- our task is to carry their argument to an amicable resolution." The Amazon composed herself, "That is my mother's deepest wish. How can we be stronger apart than together?" "What Sister Amazonia wishes, her Sister Donai will make law. To cement my commitment to Amazonia, I will call Her daughter my Niece," Kaleda took Yassine's face in her hands, pulled her closer and pressed her lips to hers. It was a warm kiss, lips slightly open but no more. It lasted a couple of heartbeats. After what seemed to Yassine to be minutes, the empress pulled away, but kept her in her arms. "You must be tired after your long journey," she said. "It is no trouble," Yassine said, she was not ready for the kiss and was slightly off balance in the smaller woman's arms. "There is so much I must discuss with you, I have brought many important documents for you to examine." "Not today, you must go and rest yourself and we can discuss the business of state tomorrow," Kaleda finally released her and guided her back into the great hall. We have prepared rooms for you and your second... what was her name? "Choura." "Yes, Choura. Rooms and food are waiting for you," she said. Inside the hall Roquan and Choura glowered at each other. The mage was finishing some statement about Choura's undoubted lack of manners which were better suited to a goat -- a state of affairs he could easily remedy. The Amazon was wondering aloud about how well the mage's understanding of mathematics might be improved by a firsthand, personal knowledge of division. "Ahem," Kaleda said. "Further mayhem will be conducted far from the royal person, and since We are all the land and shall brook no travel tonight, RO-quan, everyone will retire to separate parts of the palace to meditate on how one can be more temperate." The mage lost nothing of what his empress had said and bowed deeply to her, "I must be back to my study, I ask your kind forbearance and bid you a good day, Majesty." He departed in a whirl of robes and disappeared into the far corner of the hall. Kaleda rearranged her dress so that it was returned to its former place around her torso, "Really, he's so much better than the last mage We had. Very good at the magical thing." Choura snorted, "With that attitude, I'd reassess my needs in that department." Yassine snapped her helm's faceplate down with a sharp clang, cowing her second with the sound alone. She turned to Kaleda, "We are at your disposal, Majesty. We will see you again tomorrow." "Rest well." ********** A page dressed in green robes led Yassine through the palace to a suite of rooms overlooking the western wing of the grounds. She strode past maids and butlers, guards and palace courtiers. From the latter she garnered the most deliberate and pointed stares. She had heard something of the rumors that surrounded her people in the world ruled by men: Witches, she-demons, secret mistresses of some dark god whose seed they took to perpetuate their kind. Were any of that true she would gladly choose that over being one of these fawning, useless things before her. Hers was a nation of warriors, proud and unafraid. She would rather be the toy of any foul thing rather than spend the rest of her life hoping for the reflected glory of someone else. For a second she felt pity for their lives, but only for a second. The page stopped at a pair of great doors and beckoned for her to enter. As she passed he bowed and told her that anything she required would be made available to her at the soonest convenience. The room was opulent to the point of distraction. The setting sun was muted through thin silk sheets drawn over the open windows. A large bowl had been cut from the marble floor, that was set with various plateaus and indentations: A bath. The rest of the room was dominated by a large, round bed covered with silken pillows and sheets. Next to it stood an ebony armor rack waiting for her to use. A hearth burned in the far corner. Yassine stepped toward the rack, eager to take off her armor after the long day when she heard a woman's voice. A strange melody sung in a foreign language wafted through the room from a hidden corridor. A second later, a short woman came in carrying a platter of fruits, breads and cheeses. She was the singer. As soon as she saw the food, Yassine remembered that it had been hours since she had eaten anything at all and days since she had eaten anything but the preserved meats and hard breads on the long voyage from Amazonia. Hunger leapt on her like an angry beast and she strode quickly toward the food. The woman with the platter looked over at her and shrieked. She dropped the platter and went to her knees, desperately covering her head with her arms. Her voice became shrill, the foreign language all the more unintelligible through the filter of raw panic. Yassine was stumped, she couldn't understand for a second what was wrong with the woman. She grabbed her forearm and pulled her upwards, "What is wrong with you?" It was a girl, barely more than seventeen summers. Her green eyes were wild with fright and full of tears behind a mass of curly black hair. She was trying to crane her head away, whatever she was saying, she was saying it over and over again. Yassine shook her with both hands now, "What in the name of the Gods are you crying about?" she yelled, "Look at me!" Yassine saw a second of reflected firelight and looked over into a mirror hung along one of the walls near the bed. The connection was immediate and embarrassing. In her full armor: Bladed gauntlets, hooked shoulder guards and grinning demon faceplate she was a formidable sight. With little flesh showing, there wasn't much to indicate a human beneath the facade. The shouting probably hadn't helped either, she thought. She snapped the faceplate back and tore the helm away, casting it to the bed along with the gauntlet she wore over her forearm. She spoke in her calmest voice as she stroked the girl's head, "Hey, hey child. Look at me. It's all right." The Amazon's face had an imperious cast to it; her gray eyes shone down across oval cheeks and an expressive mouth. Locks of her blond hair spilled out of the bun tied at the back of her head in random strands. She made an effort to soften her features as she held the servant's shoulders. With much cajoling, the girl finally looked up with teary eyes at Yassine. She stopped and squinted, rubbed at her eyes and looked again. Yassine took the skittish girl's hand and held it to her face, rubbing the cheek and touching it to her hair, "I'm sorry, it's OK. I'm Yassine." The girl was coming back to sanity, still sobbing but less and less as the seconds went by. The Amazon pointed to her chest, "Yassine. I'm Yassine." She touched the girl's hand to her face. "Yassine." The girl snuffled and rubbed her eyes again. She took her first even breath in the last few minutes and pointed to her, "Yazz-een." "Yes," she nodded. "Yassine." She pointed at the girl, trying not to make a jabbing motion, "You?" "Yue?" She shook her head, "Pari. Nohhg Yue, Pari." She looked around the room and smacked the floor a couple of times then sent out a stream of rapid-fire gibberish. Yassine decided to bridge the rest of the gulf herself. She touched the girl's shoulder, "Pari." She nodded, looked at the mess of food on the floor and gave a nervous laugh. She waited to see Yassine's positive reaction before reaching into the belt of her tunic and pulling out a piece of parchment. She looked at it, mouthed something, then looked back at the Amazon. "Foouud?" She pointed at the mess on the floor. Yassine nodded and Pari started to collect what she had spilled back onto the tray. Yassine took an apple from where it lay and started eating when Pari motioned her to a pile of pillows near the fire. Another fountain of language flowed out of her and the Amazon got her drift. She started to remove the rest of her armor while the girl collected the rest of the food. The whole time, she spoke rapidly and stamped at the floor from time to time. After a while, Yassine settled down onto the pillows in her simple, cotton tunic that she wore under her armor. Pari came over, settled down on her knees and offered the rest of the tray to her. She thanked Pari and started in on the bread and cheese. As she ate, the girl watched her closely. Eventually, she consulted her parchment again. "Wh, wh," Pari looked very intently at the parchment. "Whynnie?" Yassine didn't wait for the floor beating routine and nodded. Pari rose, disappeared into the corridor and returned with a bottle and a hammered metal goblet. She poured Yassine a draught of the sweetest wine she ever tasted. After draining two, she was content to sip the third. Only once she had taken the violent edge off her hunger that Yassine had a chance to look at Pari. She was a whole head shorter than the Amazon. She was obviously the child of desert people, with her dusky skin and thick, dark curls. What immediately caught her eye was her deep green eyes, slightly almond shaped with long lashes. It was hard to get a clear look at them, though, Pari was loath to make eye contact when she was not speaking. She had large breasts for her small frame, with flaring hips and small feet. She was dressed in some sort of diaphanous green wrap that hinted at large, dark nipples. After Yassine had refused another helping of food, Pari cleared the platter and brought out another bottle of wine. The sway of her hips was worth the effort of eating another tray of fruits. Pari sat back down and pulled out her parchment again, practiced with her eyes closed, then torturously put forward another word, "Battze...?" Yassine shook her head, this one didn't even register. "Baattzuh...?" Pari strained her neck to the right as she said it. "I don't understand." Pari furrowed her brow, then rubbed her hand along her arm and made sounds, "Pssshs, pssshs, pssshs." She continued by rubbing her fingers back and forth through her hair. The Amazon got an inspiration and nodded. She mimicked the motions and sounds, "Pssshs, pssshs. I get it. Bath!" Pari nodded triumphantly, "Bathze!" She threw the parchment into the fire with a laugh and rose to the bowl carved into the floor. She tapped her foot on a green stone at one corner and the bowl filled with swirling, steamy water. From a bowl of slender bottles she pulled a bluish vial out, popped out the cork and poured the substance into the water. Through the churning motion of the water, the entire pool was filled with pastel blue bubbles in seconds. The scent of flowers filled the air. She pointed at the water, "Bathze." Yassine got up and started to pull off her tunic. She didn't think twice about undressing in front of Pari, she had never been conscious about her body. Beneath the simple garment was a body honed by years of training and battle. She was strong, but not bulky. The wisdom of the war scholars was clear: A powerful form will always lose out to a powerful, flexible one. Her large breasts swayed as she worked to untie the simple wrap she wore around her thighs. Once it came away, she lowered herself into the warm pool and sighed at her first real bath in weeks. She heard Pari starting to sing again and looked over to see her untying her wrap with her back to the bath. The green wisp fell away to reveal a sweet, ample backside. Her buttocks were like two teardrops, small at the top but full and round at the bottom. The view was all the more accentuated as she bent down to remove her sandals. She turned, revealing her full breasts and shaved-bare mound. Picking up a bottle of green fluid and an empty wide-mouthed jar, Pari entered the bath. Yassine was familiar with the concept of personal servants, senior Amazon officers often used the raw recruits to do menial work while they trained, and allowed Pari to go about the business of washing her hair. The girl loosened the bun in Yassine's hair, filled the jar with water from a spigot and poured it over Yassine's hair. After her tresses were completely free and soaked with the water, Pari poured a generous dollop of the green fluid onto her hands and started massaging it into the blond mass. Between the water, the wine and the meal, Yassine felt the tensions of the sea voyage melt away from her frame. As she leaned back against the bath's edge, she surveyed the woman tending to her hair. She's beautiful, she thought, absolutely wonderful. As Pari stood before her, working the soap into a fine lather, her brown breasts bobbed and swayed just before her eyes. Below, the beginning of the cleft that led to her labia rose and fell slightly out of the foamy water. Her hair and upper chest were still dry and the scent of some perfume was still evident above the smell of flowers in the water. Just as Yassine made up her mind to take hold of the girl, Pari upended the jar over the Amazon's head and washed away the lather. Sputtering, she tried to clear her eyes as a second and third jar ran over her face. She stood, using her superior height to get away from the deluge and regain her bearings. When her sight cleared, Pari stood before her holding a mass of white fluff in her hand. "Harpma" she said, reaching for her hand. Pari took Yassine by the wrist, doused the fluff in the water and started to rub up and down her arm. The silky substance yielded a copious amount of soap as she scoured Yassine's skin. Yassine started at the sensation. She had felt silk against her skin, many times, but the feeling of this strange fiber was unlike anything she had ever touched. Whatever it was coated in was soft and slick, but the white puff was slightly abrasive. Pari worked up and down her arm, taking care on the underarm and paying special attention to each individual finger -- even inspecting the fingernails. She moved to Yassine's shoulders, simultaneously massaging muscles while cleaning the skin. Throughout the bath, Pari talked constantly. Her melodic voice rose and fell as she attended to elbow and shoulder, oblivious to the fact that Yassine had no idea what she said. Her tone was light, as if she were discussing the brightness of the sun or her day in the market. The Amazon leaned back into the rub, luxuriating in the feel of the rub while pressing her shoulders into Pari's breasts. The poke of her nipples was apparent despite the warmth of the water. She smiled and reached for her wine glass. "If you're half as good in bed as you are in the bath, I'm stealing you away from here and taking you home." Pari sounded a question and reached around to start soaping Yassine's breasts. The movements were sensual, teasing and deliberate. The feelings in the Amazon's breasts rocketed through her body and caused her back to arch against the desert girl. Pari laughed and stood abruptly, causing Yassine to momentarily lose her balance. When she looked over, Pari was motioning her to sit on one of the higher plateaus in the bath. Yassine moved as Pari moved in front of her. She lifted Yassine's foot and gently washed it. Working up from the ankle, she worked the Amazon's muscled calf and paid special attention to the back of her knee. She repeated the process on the other leg then moved toward the middle of the bath. "Apprezt," she said, motioning Yassine to the deepest point in the bowl. When she got there, Yassine was mid-thigh in the water. Pari knelt down in the water, which put her neck deep in the soapy pool. With the fluff in one hand, she put her other hand on the Amazon's thigh and looked upward for approval. Yassine nodded. With care, the girl started rubbing along Yassine's upper thighs in careful circles. With every swirl of her hand she came closer to the Amazon's crotch. Finally, she parted her legs and started washing her sex. If the touch on her breasts had been shocking, the soft abrasion between her legs was revelation. Pari's hand through the fiber was like softly running water; gentle but impossible to ignore. With the slightest pressure she stroked her sex from top to bottom, venturing within by the slimmest margin. She went further back, running the fluff between her buttocks to rub along the Amazon's anus. Against her will, Yassine gasped. She looked between her legs to see that Pari took no notice of her outburst. The girl merely held up her hand and motioned her back to the edge of the bath. Yassine moved back and sat on the edge of the bowl, throwing her head back and parting her legs for the inevitable next phase of the play. She was so turned on that she didn't think twice about leaving herself so exposed to the girl. When she saw the flash of a blade she was caught completely off guard. Pari stood in the bath before her holding a small, thin blade in her hand. She smiled and pointed at her crotch, "Brugge mai?" Yassine's thighs snapped shut and her arms wrapped around her chest. If there was a weapon nearby she would have grabbed it. Pari noticed the shock, spat what could only be a curse, and ran a hand over her bare mound. She made a pantomime of pulling the blade across her crotch -- up and down, "Brugge, brugge mai?" Yassine realized what she meant, and thought hard. Amazon's didn't shave themselves there. It wasn't taboo but it wasn't by any means a custom. Ahh well, she thought, when in Donai, "Just a little," she made a small gesture with her thumb and forefinger: The universal language for not too much. Jumping across the gulf of languages, Pari nodded, reached for a bottle filled with golden liquid, and smeared its contents over Yassine's blonde sex. With care, she began shaving away the hairs from her vulva. The sensation was unnerving. Getting a haircut was enough of a trial for Yassine, a chore she assigned to only a few people she trusted. This was something else entirely. The feel of the thin blade against her privates awoke every defensive nerve in her long frame. The vigilant part of her brain was screaming in protest, "This is how a foolish warrior gets killed, she lets her defenses down in front of one she mistakes to be an underling," she thought. "One slash of that blade and you're dead before you stand up." She made an effort of not shivering as Pari went about her work. Just as she steeled herself for the rest of the ordeal, Pari stood and poured the jar over Yassine's mound and brushed the rest of the golden liquid away in the stream. The Amazon looked down to see that her pubic hair had been trimmed to a neat v-shape leading to bare nether lips. A touch revealed that she was absolutely smooth. Pari watched the look on her face as she put the blade and other bath items away in a basket at the side of the bowl. She turned back to Yassine, placed her hands on her naked hips, and said something in her foreign tongue with a smile. Yassine decided she wouldn't wait for another round of charades and pulled the smaller woman into her arms. Lifting her off her feet, she pulled Pari into a long kiss as she pressed their water-slick bodies together. Pari responded, wrapping her arms around the Amazon as she ground her lips against Yassine's and wrapped her leg around her hip, working her bare sex against the hard plane of the Amazon's belly. Their tongues wrestled as hands ran up and down each others' forms. Battle-callused hands slid over doe-soft curves as smaller, lithe fingers gripped well-worked muscles with surprising strength. Yassine put both palms under the girl's full bottom and lifted her completely off her feet and carried her to the bed. Pari wrapped her legs around the Amazon's waist and worked her tongue up her neck to nestle inside her ear. Once at the edge of the bed, Yassine gave a violent shrug and half-threw Pari to the silks below, "Let's see what other skills you have." Shaken for only a second, Pari swiftly got to her knees and locked her mouth on Yassine's breast. She cooed as if it were she being suckled as her tongue attacked the nipple. Yassine murmured and stroked the girl's mass of curled locks, holding her head close. As she switched to the other breast, Pari's hand drifted down the Amazon's abdomen to luxuriate in her dripping folds. Yassine's body was awash with pleasure from above and below. She slowly sank down to the bed and onto her back, content to allow Pari to take the lead. Pari licked, kissed and whispered her way down the larger woman's body until she was staring into the Amazon's center. She said something quiet in a sing-song tone before running her tongue into Yassine. The Amazon's back arched as Pari started working in earnest. The girl had one hand over Yassine's thighs pulling the hood of her clitoris back as the other worked two and then three fingers into her sex. All the while, Pari's tongue pounded at the clitoris with a fury occasionally straying to take a long drags along the length of her lips. Yassine grabbed at the bundles of silk pillows arrayed around her head and wrenched them in tight fists. She had more than her share of lovers at home, all of them accomplished and inventive, but not at all like this small delight. The girl was taking her to the edge faster and more skillfully than the Amazon had felt since her first time years ago with her handmaiden. It wasn't until years later that she learned her mother hand-picked her first lover to assure her daughter a joyful experience. Reflecting on that, she realized that this one could have started a revolution on Amazonia. Who wouldn't kill to have this in their bed, she thought. "Oooohh," Yassine panted as the familiar swell of an orgasm started to bloom in her belly. She wrapped her fingers into Pari's hair and pulled her face deeper in, "Ohhh, come on!" Pari reached up and grasped Yassine's breast firmly as she dug her face deeper between the Amazon's legs. The contraction starting in Yassine's insides started to tighten, she slipped her small finger between the woman's buttocks and slid it into her anus. Yassine cried out as her orgasm came crashing in on her. It was all she could do to keep her legs from scissoring in on Pari's neck and snapping it instantaneously. She shuddered and quaked as the girl kissed her way back up Yassine's body. When she opened her eyes, she saw Pari's cheeks drenched in her fluids. Yassine pulled her into a deep kiss, tasting her own salty musk on the girl's tongue. They broke the kiss and Pari lay her head on Yassine's shoulder. Just as she started to speak, the Amazon felt something strange in her mouth, it was one of her own hairs. She pulled it out and looked at it disapprovingly. Pari shrugged, "Brugge ne-mai." It sounded like an explanation. Yassine smiled and rolled the girl over on her back, "Hmm, interesting idea, let's test that theory." The Amazon started kissing her way down Pari's body, stopping to lavish attention on her coffee brown nipples. While stroking the left, she gently sucked on the right and occasionally worried it with her teeth. Pari keened with pleasure and gripped Yassine's shoulders. Moving from one breast to the other, Yassine ran her tongue between the two mounds while she gazed upwards into Pari's green eyes. The servant had a pleased, slightly surprised look on her face. She went on in her melodious language, stopping periodically to giggle or moan. Yassine wasn't used to a lot of pillow talk, at least not during sex. On Amazonia, sex was a serious act, performed with diligence and attention to detail -- talk was for before and afterward. Usually afterward. She decided to take the experience up a notch and see if the conversation could weather the storm. Yassine kissed down Pari's belly, taking time to work her tongue into the girl's navel. After getting the moaning reaction she was expecting, Yassine parted Pari's thighs and stroked the bare mound before her. The girl was highly aroused, her clitoris stood out eagerly and the folds of her sex were slick with her juices. The Amazon dragged the back of her fingers along the sides of the girl's inner thighs, putting enough tension on the flesh to leave lightly colored tracks behind them. With an evil smile, Yassine licked her lips as the two locked eyes. Her gray eyes glinted in the fading sunlight streaming through the windows, "You've done enough talking, listen to this." With that, the Amazon put her lips very close to Pari's thighs and started reading off the names of all of her lovers. The force of her breath, light as butterfly wings, played across the minuscule hairs on the girl's thighs with devastating effect. She moved up and down her abdomen, listing first those who were submissive and accepting then moving onto those who wrestled with her for control of the bed. Pari's banter had become more plaintive. She rolled and thrust her hips forward, trying to make better contact with the Amazon's lips. Her hands gripped the sheets as she struggled against the urge to grab Yassine by her hair and force her mouth towards her sex. Yassine decided to end the torture and ran her tongue along the length of the girl's lips and locked her lips firmly on the clitoris. Pari moaned loudly and wrapped her legs around the Amazon's neck. Pari grasped her breasts roughly and rocked her upper body back and forth as Yassine's tongue ground into her clitoris. She reached behind herself with a free hand and started to part her bottom when Yassine pulled her face away from her groin and slapped the hand. "None of that, child," her voice was imperious. "Don't make me bind you to the bed." Pari looked out in delirious shock and covered her breasts with her hands. Whatever she said, she said it quietly and with contrition. Yassine rolled Pari upwards so that she was resting on the back of her shoulders with her toes almost touching the pillows. Laying her forearms along the back of the girl's thighs -- effectively pinning her to the spot -- she started in on her labia again. Pari warbled and cried as Yassine's tongue began working furiously against the hairless, slick folds parted before her. The girl was very different from her other lovers. The most submissive Amazon was still a powerful bundle of muscles. The servant underneath her was frail by comparison, a fraction of the physical force she was used to. At the same time, she had never had a partner who was so responsive, so completely engrossed in the experience. Yassine thought that she could make the girl sing just by stroking her neck. With a start, Pari's moans turned into screams and she nearly lifted herself free of the Amazon as her orgasm hit and she arched her back. Yassine stayed with her, forcing her tongue deeper even as the constricting folds of Pari's sex tried to force it out. The girl convulsed as Yassine pulled away, kissing her way back up her body and letting Pari lay back onto the pillows. Pari shivered and jerked as the Amazon put her arms around her. The girl wrapped her leg over Yassine's thigh and ground her dripping lips against the muscled column -- starting another bout of shaking. It took a few seconds for her breathing to come under control. "You are adept," Pari said, her voice coming clear and perfectly understandable through a moderate accent. "Only the Empress has ever been so attentive." Yassine spun on the bed and looked straight at the girl, "You understand my language? You've been playing all this time?" Pari's eyes brightened and she laughed, "Finally, the mage's magic works. No, princess, I have not been playing with you." Yassine drew herself up on her elbow and regarded the girl seriously, "How is it that you can speak to me now and not before?" "The Empress ordered Roquan to enchant the palace so that everyone could understand each other, no matter what language they spoke," she kissed the Amazon's shoulder. "The spell makes you understand the words I say and makes me understand the words you say. The problem is that the magic takes a while to work sometimes." Yassine was still unsure, "But I can see your lips making the right motions..." "It is an illusion, a magic that works on your mind," Pari said. "Do not stare too closely at my lips, you will get a terrible headache." Yassine lay back and took the information in. Mages were a strange lot, no matter where you found them. Her mother's own mage, Denek, used to make the waters of the rivers run backwards and sometimes sideways when the crops required better irrigation. She decided to leave magic to magic. She smiled slyly, "I don't know if I can ignore what you do with your lips..." Pari smiled, "I promise to live up to the compliment." ******* Please refer any comments to merdement@yahoo.com